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Monthly Archives: May 2013

Congrats to me! The art blog is officially 13 months old! Happy Blog Anniversary! I can hardly believe I missed the one year anniversary at the beginning of this month, but catching it now on the 31st I made it just in time. Do you remember my first blog post?? It was a year ago I was starting my yellow study and just launched my art career: that is, getting a business license and framing my work! Those early posts were certainly minimal and sparse with information, but a fun trip down memory lane.

Next week is another huge milestone: my first exhibit. Being a professional artist has really changed how I view my work, and the processes I go through creatively. I’ve had lots of help along the way through people like Art Biz Coach and friends like Pamela Slaton. Oh, and I published a book: AWAKE!!! I also have a burgeoning fan page on Facebook that has now become the seat to memes combining my thoughts and photography similar to what is found in my book. If you aren’t already reading those, you should like that page and not miss any more inspiration on your timeline!

I’m so proud and grateful at the same time because it’s not just the month of May that introduced me to yellows and the power of the solar plexus chakra, my amazing boyfriend, or the start of my art business, it is also in May that I got clean and sober. In reflecting over the past month of anniversaries and the transformation of the past 3 years, I can honestly say that I am living the life of my dreams. Thank you for reading this blog and supporting me and the art I create!

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I can hardly believe that it’s happing next week! My debut exhibit is finally about to happen. I think back on the number of hours I’ve spent with my camera and Photoshop and how long I didn’t do anything about it. I’m so grateful that my work is enjoyed by so many people! In preparation for the showing, I’ve gotten some press about the exhibit. Here is a nice write-up on Delaware Scene:

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It’s my first time at this specific spot, but a favorite nonetheless. In my free time I hike the many trails local to my area which led me along a small pond’s edge where nature had mottled a full frame!

Again, I’m rather disappointed with my ranking. That is until I remember I snapped this in passing on my iPhone and did not spend a lot of effort in capturing a favorite spot on the trail. It’s a classic yield for effort, thought, and planning. Onwards!

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Bored one afternoon this spring, I pulled out my 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR that I haven’t used since I first bought it 5+ (?!) years ago to test it out. I thought, erroneously, that it would only be good when out scouting birds or taking tourist type shots that I could zoom up onto monuments and so forth. And that is precisely why I hadn’t been using it, focusing instead on my prime lens to capture a nice bokeh and shallow DOF for my translucent light studies. I have had a lot of micromovements in some of my throwaways, so I decided to play with the VR by standing 7-10 feet away. These are the shots I came up with:

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I was perusing some older images in my pictures folder with a friend this week and talking about my photography style. We agreed it was different and not necessarily the sort of images that people gravitate towards. She said it was great that I was able to see the unseen. I love to shoot the things that most of us just walk by without a second thought because those moments of light are beautiful. Much of my shooting is haphazardly unplanned: I go out with my camera and explore to find moments of beauty. These images of the lines on the wall are the perfect example. The sunlight streamed in through the shutters at this angle for but a moment before sliding onto the floor in a blurred distortion. I like the layers of different lines on top of each other.

I find our world to be amazing and interesting. I walk about with a sense of wonder all the time. And those who walk with me often see me crouching, squatting, and otherwise contorting with a camera in my hand because I saw something that caught my eye. It is a constant visual unrest, but a gift nonetheless.

Look for me on a blog near you!

Art has been a main staple and sounding board throughout my life, like a best friend lending support and encouragement, triggering a good laugh, and sharing reminiscing times of remembrance. I am dedicated to life-long learning and will often explore new forms to express my creative talents. For the past two years, art provided a life-saving grounding force as I transformed my life in a major way. The union between my artwork and recovery is very empowering. I truly am an artist at heart and as I align my being closer to my heart and spirituality, my art has followed suit becoming more focused and refined. Nature is an essential source of inspiration as it is a constant state of change, a continual source of new material. I see beauty in cycles of change, death, decay, destroyed, distressing, weathered, and broken subjects.